Variable-beat alarm clock



Nov. 12, 1935. w PORTER 2,020,738

VARIABLE BEAT ALARM CLOCK Filed July 27, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l W. E. PORTER VARIABLE BEAT ALARM CLOCK Filed July 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 12, 1935.

Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES VARIABLE-BEAT ALARM CLOCK Wilson E. Porter, New Haven, Conn, assignor to The New Haven Clock Company, New Haven,

Conn, a corporation Application July 27, 1933, Serial No. 682,369

18 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved variablebeat alarm clock, that is to say, alarm clocks in which means is provided for automatically changing the beat-frequency of the alarm-hammer or equivalent member.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a variable-beat alarm clock characterized by reliability and relative fewness of parts.

Another object is to provide an alarm clock of the class described which may be produced at a low cost for manufacture.

A further object is to provide a variable-beat alarm clock having such construction and arrangement of parts as will minimize the danger of jamming and. the consequent failure of the mechanism to function.

A still further object is to provide a variablebeat alarm clock in which the beat-frequency of the hammer or equivalent member is controlled by the drive-spring of the alarm mechanism.

Other objects and advantages will appear to those skilled in the art from the following, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of one form which an alarm-clock movement may assume in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a broken, schematic, perspective view showing the alarm-drive spring tightly wound and the parts adjusted preparatory to sounding a slow-beat alarm;

Fig. 4 is a similar view but showing the alarmdrive spring as extended and the parts shifted into position for sounding a rapid-beat alarm;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the shifting-lever detached;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the hammer-unit detached; and

Fig. 7 is a similar view of the actuating-wheel unit detached.

The particular alarm-clock movement herein chosen for illustration includes a front move merit-plate l and a rear movement-plate H which are rigidly secured together in spaced relationship by a plurality of pillars I2 in the ordinary manner of clock movements. Between the respective movement-plates l0 and I l is mounted a time-train of any approved construction but as herein shown being of the type driven by a spiralspring 13 and having the usual balance-wheel l4 and escapement features I5.

As before pointed out, the time-train may e of any approved construction and requires herein no detailed description other than to say that in addition to driving a minute-arbor l6 and an hour-sleeve lfi it also serves to continuously rotate an alarm-cam wheel I! carrying a sleevelike cam l8 and loosely mounted with freedom for both rotary and axial movement, in the ordinary manner of alarm clocks, upon the forward end of an alarm-set staff 19 extending through the movement-plates H! and II and bearing therein. 10 The forward end of the said alarm-set staff 19 rigidly carries a radially-projecting cam-finger 20 coacting with the forward edge of the cam l8, and on occasion registering with a cam-notch 2| therein to permit the alarm-wheel I1 and the said cam I8 to move forwardly on the said staff l9 under the urge of a sheet-metal alarm-control spring 22.

The said alarm-control spring 22 is formed of spring metal and is rigidly secured at one end by means of a rivet 23 to the front movement-plate l0 and at its opposite end is provided with an alarm-control finger 24 adapted to be moved into and out of the path of a stop-finger 25 for the purpose of stopping and releasing the alarm-train 25 to be presently described.

Also mounted between the front and. rear movement-plates l0 and II is an alarm-train comprising a spiral alarm-drive spring 26 having one end anchored to the adjacent one of the pillars I2 and having its opposite end anchored to a winding-arbor 2! bearing in the said movementplates l0 and II. The said winding-arbor has rigidly coupled to it a ratchet-disk 28 having a laterally-offsetting ratchet-finger 29 engaging in any given one of a plurality of perforations 30 formed in an alarm-train main-wheel 3|. The spring 26 acts through the intermediary of the features 21, 28, 29, and 30 to drive the said mainwheel, whichis loosely mounted upon the said arbor 21 in the usual manner of alarm clocks.

The said main-wheel 3| meshes into a pinion 32 which is mounted upon the alarm-set staff I!) with freedom for rotation thereupon and has rigidly attached to it a primary alarm-actuating wheel 33, a secondary alarm-actuating wheel 34, and the second wheel 35 of the alarm-train. Each of the alarm-actuating wheels 33 and 34 is provided with peripheral actuating-teeth 36, the former with three (more or less) teeth and the latter with sixteen (more or less) teeth, for the purpose as will hereinafter appear.

The second wheel 35 meshes into and drives a pinion 31 rigidly mounted upon an arbor 38 bearing at its respective opposite ends in the front and rear movement-plates l0 and II. The arbor 38 also rigidly carries a third wheel 39 meshing into a pinion rigidly mounted upon a governor-shaft 4i bearing at its respective opposite ends in the movement-plates l0 and H efore referred to.

Adjacent its forward end, just forwardly of the rear movement-plate II, the governor-shaft H has staked to it a diametrically-arranged governor-support 42 having mounted upon each of its respective opposite ends, with freedom for radial movement thereon, a brake-shoe 43 adapted to engage the interior surface of a cup-shaped brake-drum 44 secured to and forwardly-projecting from the rear movement-plate H.

Mounted adjacent and to one side of the alarmset staff i9 is a hammer-shaft 45 bearing at its respective opposite ends in the movement-plates l9 and i l with capacity for both axial and oscillating movement with respect thereto. The said hammer-shaft also has rigidly secured to it an actuating-member comprising an actuatingfinger 4'! projecting toward the actuating-wheels 33 and 35 and alternately engageable first with the teeth of one thereof and then with the teeth of the other. The said member 48 also includes a stop-finger 48 extendin oppositely from the finger 47 and engageable with the adjacent one of the pillars [2.

The hammer-shaft 45 above referred to has also rigidly secured to it a wire-like hammer-arm 49 carrying at its upper end a hammer 50 adapted to engage with a bell 5D or other suitable sounding device. Depending from the hammer-shaft 45 is a short finger 5i engaged by the free end of a sheet-metal spring 52 having its opposite end rigidly secured to the front movement-plate I0 and exerting a constant effort to turn the said hammer-shaft and its associated parts in a counterclockwise direction, as required to cause the hammer 50 to strike the bell 50 Rigidly secured to the front face of the front movement-plate it! is a sheet-metal shift-spring 53 hearing at its upper free end against the forward end of the hammer-shaft 45 and exerting a constant effort to move the same rearwardly so as to align the actuating-finger 41 with the teeth 38 of the primary alarm-actuating wheel 33.

Pivotall mounted intermediate its ends on a stud 54 rearwardly offsetting from the rear plate II is an alarm shiftor control-lever 55 formed at one end with a forwardly-extending operatingfinger 56 which is engageable by the outer convolution of the alarm-spring 25. The opposite end of the lever 55 is provided with a downwardly-and-rearwardly-sloping cam-finger 51 which is engageable with the rear end of the hammer-shaft 45 for forcing the same forwardly, on occasion, against the tension of the spring 53 to align the actuating-finger 41 of the said shaft with the teeth 35 of the secondary alarm-actuating wheel 34.

The shiftor control-lever 55 is also formed with a downwardly-extending lug 58 which is engaged by the free end of a sheet-metal spring 59 secured at its opposite end to the rear face of the rear movement-plate II and exerting a constant effort to swing the lever 55 in a counterclockwise direction as required to retire the camfinger 51 upwardly to thus permit the shift-spring 53 to move the shaft 45 rearwardly. The lug 58 of the lever 55 is provided with a vertically-extending slot 60 receiving the shank of a headed stud 6i rearwardly offsetting from the rear movement-plate l l and serving to prevent the lever from being flexed away from the said movementplate by the tension of the shift-spring 53.

For the purpose of manually stopping the alarm mechanism, a shut-off shaft 62 is mounted between the movement-plates l0 and H so as to bear at its respective opposite ends therein. At its forward end the said shaft 62 is provided with an L-shaped shut-off arm 63 which is adapted to be swung into and out of the path of the stopfinger 25, by an Lshaped finger-piece 6'4 rigidly attached to the said shaft adjacent the rear end thereof.

For the purpose of describing the operation of the variable-beat alarm clock herein chosen for the illustration of the present invention, let it be presumed that the alarm-spring 25 has been tightly wound, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, and that the shut-off arm 63 has been retired out of the path of the stop-finger 25.

Now when, in the revolution of the ala1m-wheel I! by the time-train, the cam-notch 2| of the alarm-cam l8 carried by the said wheel is brought into registration with the cam-finger 2!! on the staff IS, the control-spring 22 will be permitted to snap the parts I! and i8 forwardly, with the effect of retiring the control-finger 24 out of the path of the stop-finger 25. The alarmtrain will now start to operate at a predetermined speed under the control of the brakeshoes 43, and since at this time the hammershaft 45 is in its rearmost position, the actuating-finger 41 thereof will be in registration with the primary alarm-actuating wheel 33, so that the hammer will be actuated by only the three teeth 36 of the said wheel, that is to say, but three times for each revolution of the said wheel 33 and thus provide a relatively infrequent move ment of the hammer 5i] and hence effect what may be termed the sounding of a slow alarm.

As the spring 25 expands, in the course of expending its stored energy, the periphery of its outer convolution will engage the operating-finger 56 and rock the shift-lever 55 in a counterclockwise direction, with the effect of causing the cam-finger 51 of the said lever to slide downwardly over the rear end of the hammer-shaft 45 to thus cam the same, together with the parts carried thereby, forwardly against the tension of the spring 53. By this movement, the actuating-finger 41 carried by the shaft 45 will be brought into alignment with the more numerous teeth 36 of the secondary-alarm actuating wheel 34, whereupon immediately the hammer will be actuated thereby at more frequent intervals than it has previously been actuated by the lesser- L;

toothed primary wheel 33. The parts will now occupy the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 4.

In the usual course of events, the alarm mechanism will be manually shut off by the aroused sleeper, who will swing the finger-piece 54 counterclockwise, with the effect of similarly moving the shut-off arm 63 in the path of the stopfinger 25.

When the alarm-spring 26 is again wound, it will contract and permit the spring 59 to swing the lever 55 in a counterclockwise direction, with the effect of retiring the cam-fin er 5! and hence permitting the shift-spring 53 to assert itself and move the hammer-shaft 45 and associated I parts rearwardly so as to bring the actuatingfinger 4'! thereof into alignment with the primary alarm-actuating wheel 33, preparatory to another cycle of operation.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than that herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising an alarm-spring; an alarm striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; and control-means engaged by the said alarm-spring and moved thereby to shift the said actuatingmeans.

2. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising an alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; and control-means including a shift-able-member engaged by the said alarm-spring and moved thereby as the said spring changes in tension to shift the said actuating-means.

3. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-sprin"; an alarm-striker; actuating-means driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; and control-means engaged by the said spiral alarm-spring and moved thereby as the said spring changes in diameter to shift the said actuating-means.

4. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuating-means driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; and control-means including a shiftable-member engaged by the said spiral alarm-spring and moved thereby as the said spring changes in diameter to shift the said actuating-means.

5. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising an alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said alarm-spring and construoted to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; control-means engaged by the said alarm-spring and moved thereby to shift the said actuatingmeans in one direction; and a shift-spring exerting a constant effort to move the said actuating-means in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the said alarm-spring.

6. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising an alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuating-means driven by the said alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; control-means including a shif'table-member engaged by the said alarm-spring and moved thereby to shift said actuating-means in one direction; and a shiftspring exerting a constant effort to move the said actuating-means in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the said alarm-spring.

7. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuating-means driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; control-means engaged by the said spiral alarmspring and. moved thereby as the said spiral alarm-spring changes in diameter to shift the said actuating-means in one direction; and a shift-spring exerting a constant effort to move the said actuating-means in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the said spiral alarm-spring.

8. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; control-means including a shiftable-member engaged by the said spiral alarm-spring and moved thereby as the said spiral alarm-spring changes in diameter to shift the said actuating-means in one direction.

9. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; and

control-means including a pivotal control-lever engaging the said actuating-means to shift the same and having a portion engaged by the said spiral spring to be moved thereby as the said spring changes in diameter to shift the said actuating-means.

10. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; and

control-means including a pivotal control-lever engaging the said actuating-means to shift the same and having a portion engaged by the said spiral alarm-spring to be moved thereby as the said spring expands in diameter to shift the said actuating-means.

11. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; controlmeans including a pivotal control-lever engaging the said actuating-means to shift the same and having a portion engaged by the said spi al spring to be moved thereby as the said spring changes in diameter to shift the said actuatingmeans in one direction; and a shift-spring exerting a constant effort to move the said actuatingmeans in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the said spiral alarmspring.

12. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; control-means including a pivotal control-lever engaging the said actuating-means to shift the same and having a portion engaged by the said spiral spring to be moved thereby as the said spring expands in diameter to shift the said actuating-means in one direction; and a shiftspring exerting a constant effort to move the said actuating-means in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the said spiral alarmspring.

13. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuating-means driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; and control-means for the said actuating-means, including a pivotal control-lever having cammeans thereon engaging the said actuatingmeans to shift the same and having a portion engaged by the said spiral spring to be moved thereby as the said spring changes in diameter.

14. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuating-means driven by the said spiral alarm-spring and constructed to be shifted to selectively actuate the said striker at different beat-frequencies; control-means for the said actuating-means, including a pivotal control-lever having cammeans thereon engaging the said actuatingmeans to shift the same and having a portion engaged by the said spiral spring to be moved in one direction thereby as the said spring changes in diameter; and a shift-spring exerting a constant eilort to move the said actuating-means in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the said spiral spring.

15. A variable-beat alarm clock comprising a spiral alarm-spring; an alarm-striker; actuatingmeans for the said striker including an actuating-arm and pai of actuating-wheels alternately engageable with the said actuating-arm, the said actuating-Wheels being driven by the said alarm-spring and one thereof being provided with a greater number of actuating-points than the other; and control-means including a member controlled by the change in diameter of the said spiral alarm-spring and acting to shift the said actuating-means to bring first one and then the other of said actuating-wheels into effective operation.

16. A variable-beat alarm clock including a striker-unit; a plurality of annular series of striker-actuating points successively engageable with the said striker-unit for actuating the same,

one of the said series of striker-actuating points comprising a greater number of points than the other; a spiral driving-spring for driving the said annular series of striker-actuating points; and a mechanism controlled by a change in diameter of the said spiral driving-spring to shift the coacting relationship of the said striker-unit and the said series of striker-actuating points to cause the said striker-unit to be actuated first at a relatively slow speed, and subsequently at a more rapid speed; in combination with a timemovement having means for releasing the said spiral driving-spring at a predetermined time.

1'7. A variable-beat alarm-clock comprising an alarm-spring changeable in size as it expends energy; alarm-sounding means driven by the said alarm-spring; and beat-frequency control-means including an operating-member located adjacent and actuatable by a portion of the said alarm-spring lying intermediate its respective opposite ends and serving to change the beat frequency of the said alarm-sounding means.

18. A variable-beat alarm-clock comprising an alarm-spring changeable in size as it expends energy; alarm-sounding means including strikingnieans driven by the said alarm-spring; and controlmeans including an operating-member located adjacent and actuatable by a portion of the said alarm-spring lying intermediate its respective opposite ends, and serving to change the beat frequency of the said striking-means.

WILSON E. PORTER. 

